Siemens to spin off mechanical drives unit as Flender GmbH

29 June, 2017

Siemens has announced that its mechanical drives (MD) business will operate as a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary to be known as Flender GmbH, a Siemens company, from 1 October, 2017.

This follows an announcement earlier this year that the business was going to be run as a stand-alone company under the Siemens umbrella. The aim is to give it a sharper, business-specific focus, allowing it to implement its growth plans faster, more flexibly and more efficiently in a “challenging” competitive environment.

There has been speculation that the move may be in preparation for an eventual sell-off of the MD operation.

Siemens acquired Flender for €1.2bn in 2005, along with the Winergy brand for windpower technologies. The business – whose headquarters are in Bocholt, Germany – has a portfolio of gear systems, clutches, drive applications and services. It employs more than 6,000 people worldwide and manufactures at eight locations.

“Flender is a strong brand with a tradition more than a century old, and we’ve always done business under the name,” says Stefan Tenbrock, CEO of the Mechanical Drives business. “Eventually, all the unit’s activities worldwide will be gathered under Flender.

The new business' portfolio will include Flender gearboxes

“It's an important step in our transformation into a stand-alone firm under Siemens AG, acting as a market-leader for our customers worldwide and thinking like a mid-sized company,” he adds.

The Winergy wind turbine business will remain part of Flender and will continue to operate under its own brand. The new setup is due to be completed worldwide by mid-2018.

Friedrich Flender AG was founded in Düsseldorf in 1899, originally making wooden pulleys. In subsequent decades, the company expanded to become a leading manufacturer of gear systems.